Hero
by primsgirl89
Summary: Danny's class goes on a field trip to the Ghost Zone. Star had thought that everyone would be excited about this trip, but when she saw that Danny Fenton didn't seem all too excited about it, she wanted to know why.
1. Changes

**Warning, I am not huge fans of Sam and Tucker so they aren't friends with Danny any longer. They also don't die this time.**

**I had changed the story a lot from the original- kind of.**

Star Strong sat in her homeroom class trying to wake herself up some, not that it would work with the teacher babbling pointless facts about the book they were on. The lesson that Lancer was giving was just a substitution for melatonin. Which wasn't ideal seeing as it was the first class of the day, so she decided to look around the room to find something interesting.

She noticed rather quickly that many others were also having a hard time staying awake with Lancer teaching them about some guy who left the face of the Earth and began to live in the wild. The title was a bit unoriginal as it was called_ Into The Wild_. Star liked the story at first, but once Lancer opened his mouth her interest left her. He has a way to make anyone dislike something just by babbling about it.

Sitting in the back of the class- surrounded by liars as the teen so often called the two around him- was a boy with a hoodie over his black hair. The boy looked to be sleeping, but if one was close enough they could hear the teen cursing as he held his hand against his cheek. She was only a row ahead and two seats to his left, so she could just barely make out those cusses.

She gazed at the boy with pitch-black hair and sky blue eyes as he glowered at the front of the room. Star thought he looked like someone had given the poor guy a hard time, probably trying to start a fight with the guy. Though, the boy often only retaliated when someone got physical with him or others that were like he once was.

A small smile spread on her lips as she watched as his 'friends' poked and prodded him about something, but when he glared at them they were quick to shut up. It wasn't unusual anymore; not after the first week of Danny doing it to his so-called friends.

Surprisingly, Danny had quickly become someone people feared when he glares at them. Star saw that he didn't like the outcome, but she knew from the look of relief that he got afterward that it was handy to have. His glare was cold and piercing, and Star was lucky to have only been glared at once. It had been an accident to have gained the glare. She had been running in the hall to get to the first class, but when she had bumped into his hard body- she went flying. By the time she looked up, she saw his glare and deep bags under his eyes. She apologized to him and gathered his things that had scattered on the floor.

It was that day that the blonde had noticed that Sam and Tucker had gotten much closer towards each other and often left Danny behind. Or was it Danny who was leaving them behind? Whenever he saw the two he often glared and stormed away- which is what happened when she had returned his thing to him. He did thank her before leaving her, so she didn't mind too much- hurt, but she didn't mind.

It wasn't unknown that Danny would come to school with a wound of some sort on his body. He would also leave class and come back with a wound. Star never had yet seen one on the teen's face until she looked at the hand that was on his cheek.

Blood. His cheek was bleeding. She quickly noticed that Danny had his hand hidden carefully under his hood to hide his bleeding cheek. Which was bleeding kind of bad. How had no one not even noticed? Well; it was actually well hidden, but still. Dash wouldn't have done something so visible to his victims, so who or what caused the wound on Danny.

Was Danny fighting in a gang? Was he getting mixed with the wrong people? Was he fighting people in gangs or dealing? Or was he fighting ghosts, like his parents?

When she noticed that Lancer had gotten up and gone into the hallway- she felt that luck was on her side for once-, she took that moment to rush over to Danny with a first aid in her bag- it was small, but it did the trick. When she reached him she gave the hoodie a yank off the quiet boy's head. The gash was wide and went from an inch under his eye to the corner of the right side of his jaw.

Thankfully, other students were on their phones or sleeping- so it made it so much easier to help the boy. Hurridly, Star grabbed the boy's hand and brought him to the corner in the back of the room to begin bandaging Danny's wound. Her hands were steady as she used her spare water bottle to pour water on a cloth so she could wipe the blood off his face.

"What-"

"Shh," Star said lowly as she looked around to see if anyone was watching them. "I don't want anyone to catch us and get us in trouble."

Danny hadn't spoken again. Star gave a small smile as she wiped the blood- which had green specs that seemed to glow. When it was gone- the gash had clotted over on the outside- Star put some antibacterial ointment on, before taking a white cotton pad to place over the gash. It was flimsy, but Danny might find something better when he is alone. Placing two more on, Star began to tape them on his cheek to keep them in place.

"There," Star said with a satisfied look on her face.

Her deep blue eyes looked at his outfit she saw he doesn't wear that white and red shirt anymore. Danny had traded it in for a black shirt with a light grey trim and oval, over the shirt was a dark blue hoodie that was half-way zipped. His pants were even a darker shade than it had once been.

She noticed he was also much taller than he was before the attitude change. He seemed to have stopped the horrible slouching- which made his height and muscles much more noticeable. Star was glad he wasn't hiding any longer.

"Uhm," Danny rasped, "thanks?" He rose a brow at the blonde.

His voice sounded dry and scratchy as he spoke and Star flinched, "did you even drink anything today?"

Danny didn't answer, but she somehow knew that he didn't and sighed. When she heard his stomach growl she gave a small smile with a sigh. Star handed him her water bottle as well as her huge red apple, knowing that she was an A-lister she knew he would be kind of hesitant to take the treat and drink of water.

Thankfully, he decided to trust the kind blonde. His calloused hand grasped the space-themed metal bottle with the first smile he had in a long time. Just as she had it back in her hand the teacher came in, not even noticing that Star and Danny weren't in their seats. The two shared the apple after Danny cut it in half with a pocket knife. They stayed in the back away from prying eyes.

"Class," Lancer said in a clipped tone, "in a week we will be taking a trip with the Fentons into the Ghost Zone. The mayor had insisted that at least one class should be able to see how ghosts live their afterlife. Until the trip, all of _your _classes will be on hold while you learn all you can on ghosts and ghost safety."

All the students' in the room cheered, even Star herself was mentally dancing, but she noticed that the trio wasn't. Sam and Tucker had gone stiff as they heard Danny's signature growl. Danny looked angry, tired, and annoyed. The smile that was once on his face was long gone. This gave her a feeling that she should be wary of the trip if Danny was looking that way at his parents.

"Are you okay, Danny," Star asked lightly. Danny looked over towards her, seeing the trust and worry in her dark blue eyes, it made him feel compelled to tell her that his parents never even been in the Ghost Zone before. Before Danny could answer Jack Fenton screamed and charged towards Danny with his nose buried in some tracker. He stood in front of his son and the blonde with excitement, but it dimmed when he saw his son. Always his son.

"Mads," Jack whined towards his wife, "it's still locked on Danny-boy."

Maddie sighed and walked out of the room, but she stopped as she looked at the students, "classes will begin tomorrow. Wear the clothes you don't care about getting damaged."

Lancer pinched his nose, "you all are allowed to go home to get rest. Just grab a permission slip before you leave, and come here tomorrow so we can see who is going and who isn't."

Getting up Star walked to her seat and grabbed the things she hadn't already had, taking the last bite of her apple. She was disappointed that Danny hadn't responded to her and she had to leave school so early. She wanted to go to her culinary class, it was something she was good at that wasn't math. It was her little secret from the A-listers, so they don't bully her as much as they do already.

Pulling her bag on her shoulders, Star began to make a mental list of the things that she could do instead. The twins could be picked up, then she could take her sisters out to her to the Nasty Burger for a dinner. It was simple for a rich girl, but she enjoyed the simple life. She didn't want to make dinner tonight if she had a new class to prepare herself for.

"Strong," Sam yelled from the other end of the hallway. Her black combat boots clapped against the white tiles of the school floor.

"Hi, Sam," Star said lightly as Sam was now in her personal space. "Something wrong?"

"Keep," the black-haired girl hissed, "your A-lister hands off of Danny. He doesn't need you to bring him in a bad mood like you just did."

Behind Sam came Danny and Tucker coming to rush closer to the two women, Danny with a deeper scowl than what she left with, but she noticed that it was directed at his companions. "Hey, Danny."

"Star," Danny mumbled as he looked away from her. The sound of her voice pulled the headache back a bit, but Sam was making it worse. She eyed the cheek she had just bandaged, but she also noticed that he left his hoodie down this time.

Star smiled at Danny before she glared at Sam, who was now holding hands with Tucker, "why would you assume he was in a bad mood because of me? From what I noticed in the past couple of months he had been in a bad mood for a long time. I also noticed that you two haven't included him in the activities I see the two of you doing. At least when you aren't trying to devour each other's face off."

Sam growled, but Tucker went wide-eyed as he looked into Star's deep blue eyes and back to Danny; who was also staring with an amused look in his eyes a brow raised as well. Tucker's grip on Sam loosened so much that she was able to escape and throw a punch at Star. The blonde didn't even dodge it, however, neither girl noticed the black blur that stood in front of the blonde with a hard set glare on his face. Sam's small fist was now being held in a crushing grip in his larger one. Star bit her lip as she wanted to not get involved, but she had a bad feeling about the situation.

Danny was glaring heavily at the goth before him, the sounds of her bones breaking satisfied him a little. How dare Sam try to harm a civilian? She knew better...or did she. Star was right in saying that they never hung around him any longer, not since she and Tucker told him they wanted nothing more to do with hunting ghosts' with him. He didn't mind that, it kept them from harm's way, what angered him was when he was invisible hearing them talk about him. Their words hurt him so much.

_"He is too dangerous to be around anymore."_

_"I actually kind of want nothing to do with him anymore, Sam."_

_"We'll pretend to be his friends for a bit longer before we run away from that freak of nature."_

He hated those words. He hated the liars. What Star didn't know was Danny's feelings about the situation. Sure, he was hurt at first, but that changed when he overheard another conversation between the couple. Planning to use his identity as Phantom to the Guys In White to gain cash. He decided then that he would never talk to the two ever again about Ghost Hunting with him- more specifically where he would be and what he would be doing. Danny went as far as to find a new place to live when his birthday came around.

"Danny," a soft voice broke his thoughts, "let her go. You're hurting her."

Those gentle fingers unwrapped his vice grip from Sam. Once his fingers were removed from Sam he walked away, not before shoving Tucker into a locker. Star watched at the dark-haired teen stomped off. She knew something was wrong, and she wanted to help.


	2. The Start

**Hey! I posted this back in December of 2019 and I am redoing it, it was slightly sloppy. The first chapter was done and I already have comments on it. I am so happy! Thank you and please enjoy this chapter. I am keeping Paulina as the antagonist, but some things will change.**

Danny had left Sam, Tucker, and Star in the hallway as he made his way into the cold air of the outside world. Outside of the school, away from idiots who think they can be better than everyone else. Away from backstabbers. As much as he wished he could be alone, some poor idiot ghost would find him eventually, but he needed to be as far away from those two as much as possible. He needed to be alone for as long as he could.

He had gone to the elementary school so he could watch the kids play. Who wanted to be a hero when they grew up, but played pretend until the real world would hit them. Those kids had only a few years left to not have to worry- and they had become a strong part of why he continues protecting the town.

With a sigh, Danny turned around leaning his back against the wired fence. His mind went back before he became how he was. It all started with a ghost, as per usual.

A few months ago Danny had been warned by Clockwork to be aware of his feelings, at least in front of Sam and Tucker. He explained that if he lost sight of what was important- he could do something that could end the world. Danny would become Dan Phantom. Though that wasn't why Clockwork had called Team Phantom to his lair, he had big news for Danny. News that wouldn't be revealed quite yet, but would require a lot of training.

Then Clockwork froze Sam and Tucker in time, he had told Danny to make sure not to trust Sam and Tucker after that morning. For he would see with due time- and how right he was. Danny was bitter how his so-called friends thought of him; what they had planned to do.

Dark Dan was Danny's and Vlad's physical embodiment of all of their negative emotions, it only became physical when their ghost halves merged. A literal two halves make a whole scenario. Danny remembered taking the ghost of time's words to heart, but he never would have thought about what would have had happened when he and his friends came back after their visit to his mentor.

He didn't want to forget about anything that involves keeping people safe, wanting to be close to the living. Danny wanted to stay as human as he could, and he would do so by keeping himself aware of his positive emotions. Anger- in his opinion- could be both positive and negative, so he had to be careful with that. Positive being it helps mentally- and sometimes physically. Though, it was what made it negative that worried Danny.

If he had let his anger bottle up too much, Danny knew he would do something that he would regret when he calmed himself enough. Though, after he had heard the conversations with Sam and Tucker, Danny had turned back to the time ghost and asked if he could be happy without those two in his life.

_If happiness is what you seek, look no further than her._

He had been confused by what Clockwork had meant, but after today he had a feeling that the _her _he had spoken of was Star. Today had been the first time in weeks that he had felt cared about, and felt even the smallest sliver of happiness. He supposed he owed Clockwork for his guidance.

A flash of the blonde he had been thinking about passed his vision. Her hand waved to the two little girls who often asked for stories when they saw him. Celestia and Luna Strong. Twins and Star's little sisters. The two loved when he told them stories about Phantom coming to his school to fight the evil ghosts. They were wonderful kids, it bothered him when he saw that a few of the other kids had begun to bully the twins. Though it stopped when he would come up to them and glower at the other kids for picking on _his_ two girls.

As predicted, Star smiled and took their bags from the two before trying to set off. The only problem, they had spotted Danny. Running at the _unprepared _boy, they jumped on him hoping to make him fall. Only, that wasn't what happened as something much more fun occurred. Danny had picked the two girls up and tossed them on each of his shoulders before he spun around.

"Danny," they cheered. Danny set them down and faced them.

"I think your sister is ready to go," Danny said with a soft smile.

The girls pouted, of course, but nodded their heads as they went back to their sister's side. Star had been smiling at the trio and gave Danny a shy little wave. Danny returned the wave with a salute. A smile sent to her as he watched them leave.

Star made him feel light this morning. She noticed his wound; gave him first aid; and gave him food and water, something no one had done in a long time.

How was it that Star had noticed his change faster than Sam and Tucker? The two people who have known him since kindergarten and third grade. If she noticed then how many others had noticed? His nose scrunched up in disgust at thinking of Sam and Tucker.

He knew that Star was one of the nicer A-listers, maybe she was probably the nicest person in the whole school. She dated Kwan even though he was kicked out of the A-list group. Not only Kwan, but she is still good friends with Valery Grey, who had been kicked out after her father had been fired from his job. Danny would never say he hates anyone to their face, but he will say what he hates about a person's actions. He does so. Everyday to those stuck-up asses.

He felt the chill of the December air, he knew it was below freezing out, so maybe he should head inside before civilians get suspicious. Across the street, Danny saw the popular restaurant every high schooler goes to. The Nasty Burger. He hadn't even noticed that he walked towards the restaurant until he was staring at the sign over the door.

Danny had opened the door to the Nasty Burger and winced at the intense heat that had hit his skin. He looked around the restaurant with his light blue eyes, but they landed on Star after they went to his table where Sam and Tucker were at. Sam had her hand wrapped in a black cast as she glared right at him, in front of her was a map. How long had Danny been outside?

Star sat with the other A-listers, but her sisters' were sitting with them. Their frowning faces pissed Danny off. He could hear the whispers of the other A-listers about the three siblings, nasty things.

Star looked up and saw that Danny looked like he was about to bash somebody's head in with a hammer, so she did the first thing that came to mind. "Danny!"

Danny's head snapped towards where the blonde had called his name from, noticing the lack of a heavy coat on her shoulders. Her coat hung over the slightly shivering girls. Taking his off as well, he planned to place it over the girls as well.

His feet dragged him towards them with a dark glare on his face, though he didn't direct it at the Strongs, it was planted at the others at their table. Star had pulled a seat out for him to sit next to Celeste and Luna- which the twins moved to sit closer to Danny. Dash, as well as Paulina, glared right at Danny and Star, but their glare couldn't beat the glare that Danny was giving them and the others at the table.

"Danny," Celeste- the blonde- squealed.

"Are you eating too," Luna- the raven-haired girl- asked timidly.

Looking down at their pleading faces, Danny sighed dramatically.

"Fine," he whined as he stole the pickles from Celeste's tray and Luna's lettuce.

The interaction did not go unnoticed. Most of the others at the table stared in shock at the three. The twins were talking and letting someone take their food, and Danny was actually playful. What was happening?

"What is Fenton doing with us, Strong," Dash roared.

The yell made everyone in the restaurant look at them, but Star flinched at the tone, as the twins hid behind Danny and the coats. Memories filled Star's mind as she tried to calm herself some before answering.

"I-I wan-," Danny saw how she seemed to have a hard time breathing so he placed a cold hand on her shoulder. He winced when she flinched away from his touch at first, but she then leaned into his hand once more. "I wa-."

"You need to breathe," he whispered in her ear. He tried to be soothing, but his voice was not exactly soothing. No, it was scratchy and raw. He hadn't spoken a lot in the past months, plus he had used his ghostly wail earlier that morning. The twins huddled between them as they listened to what Danny said- and taking deep breathes as well. "Try again."

"I wanted," Star began but Dash slammed his hand on the table making a few of the hot drinks spill. Right on Star. Or it would have had Danny not reacted as fast to change Star's legs intangible so the liquid wouldn't touch her. Luckily, no one was paying attention- the twins clung to either of them, so they had no way of being burned.

"Shut the fuck up, Fenton," Dash screamed. "I asked Strong!"

His veins were popping out on his tanned skin, his blue eyes seemed to pop out of his head as he glared so harshly at the two he went to school with. Danny would have ignored him if it was just himself Dash was yelling at, but Star was being yelled at and it seemed as if she wasn't reacting well to it. Neither were his girls.

_God, I make it sound like I am their father or some shit._

"Maybe if you didn't startle her she would have answered you," Danny said with a cold tone to his voice. Glancing at the twins he wondered what he could do to prevent them from seeing and hearing this.

Dash growled, but Paulina slapped Dash against the head, "shut up and let her speak." Star was who Paulina went to for emotional support, so she was cashing in her debt now.

Danny placed an arm around Star's slim waist and moved her closer to his side, hoping that it would be enough for her to know she was safe with him around. Star had covered her face with her hands, but she didn't stay in her seat for long. She stood up so fast, but Danny pulled her into his lap so she could cool herself off some. Plus, knowing that the slippery floor would have made her hurt herself if she even tried running.

The twins had gripped the coats tightly- probably hoping that they would swallow them up and away from here.

If he remembers correctly; Star's father was arrested for reasons still unknown to Danny. It was c confidential because minors were involved- though, Tucker did find out that Star's father was a fraud- scamming people with his family's car business. Danny had used his alter-ego to check out what was going on; while Star and the two little kids knew nothing about it, their mother did and helped a lot of the time by advertising for the company.

"Look what you did, Dash," Paulina whispered harshly at Dash, not knowing that Danny was able to hear them. "You know Star's father abused her not too long ago before being arrested."

Keeping that information in the back of his mind, Danny used his core to let off some cooler air for Star. Star had let out a soft whimper as she unconsciously snuggled into Danny's chest. "I'm sorry, but she invited the fucking freak!"

_"Those fucking A-listers needing attention," _Danny heard Sam spit. _"Look at how the Satellite is practically raping Danny."_

Danny glanced behind himself to find that Sam and Tucker were watching everything. Sam had her good hand in a tight fist as she glared at the entire table. Tucker was just enjoying his food as he watching the happenings of the table.

_"Who cares," _Tucker smirked, _"Danny deserves to be yelled at for breaking your hand like that. Besides, he won't be getting anything when we tell them what he is."_

As a mental reminder, he will be going to Clockwork to see if there was any way that he could keep those two's mouth shut.

Paulina's shrill voice brought his attention back to them, they had been arguing about letting Danny sit with them, but he will be leaving once he knew that Star was fine on her own. As well as be able to take the twins home. Maybe he will ask to stay the night with her and her family instead; just to make sure she would be okay- and keep an eye on the twins.

"Fine," Paulina said as she sat down in a rage, "but you are doing it."

"Whatever," Dash rolled his eyes. He turned to face Danny and Star, "Strong, you are hereby kicked out of the A-list group."

Star wasn't able to breathe as she was beginning to panic, her breaths were coming far too quick and short. Danny didn't have much time to think, he needed her to hold her breath for a bit, but with the way she was panting he had to act fast. His lips crashed right onto Stars forcing her to focus on something but the panic she felt. He expected it to not work, but she stopped breathing as soon as his lips landed on hers. Hearing light giggling, he knew the twins were watching him now.

Kissing, who knew?

When he thought that she would be fine, Danny pulled back and let the blonde stay on his lap. He never wanted to force himself on someone like that, but he didn't have any other idea to get her to calm down and slow her breathing. He knew from experience that people who have panic attacks aren't always able to control their breathing. Their mind and body are no longer a team and it makes it hard for them to get the air they need.

Star's eyes opened and met Danny's for a split second before her head fell on his shoulder, her body felt heavy and she had no idea what had just happened. What she wanted right then was to lay in her bed and sleep until tomorrow. When she opened her eyes she saw that Celeste and Luna were making kissy faces at her.

At least they were fine for now.

Danny grabbed Star's jacket and placed it over Star. He was going to take them home. "Give me her address." Paulina did just that, before handing it to Danny.

He got into his sister's old car that he left parked at the high school.


	3. Ghost 101

Star couldn't think straight when she entered was in Danny Fenton's arms being placed int the passenger seat of his car. She tried to dissuade Danny from taking her and the twins back home, but Danny just gave her a stern look and got into the driver's seat.

The home her father was able to pay for before he died in a car accident a month ago. She didn't ever want anyone from her school; no matter how unjudgemental they are; to see her home. Even though Star had two sisters, literally only nine-years-old, she had been mothering the two for as long as she could remember. Of course, her mother had been a huge help, but her mother hadn't been taking much care of them since the accident. So Star had to go out to find a sitter while she wasn't home on weekends. Even though her husband wasn't the best man, Star knew her mother loved him very much.

She wanted to keep her home life and her school life separate, but it would appear that had been thrown out the window. Halfway up her street, Star realized that Danny was close to her home, she began to tell Danny that she was fine enough to walk the rest of the way there. Did he listen? No, no he didn't. He just ignored her until they were at her doorstep.

The twins had rushed inside the house- giant grins on their faces. Star stayed back with Danny. What should she say after he kissed her? She knew it wasn't a big deal, but it was still a bit awkward for Star since she was having a panic attack at the time.

"Thank you," Star said. Her fingers tucked some of the hair that had gotten loose from her loose braid. "I don't know what would have happened if you-"

"Shut up," Danny interrupted with a roll of his eyes. "It wasn't a bid deal."

"It was to me," Star said after a moment of silence.

At that moment the two heard screams coming from inside the house. When they stepped foot in her home she heard the twins were crying as well as things crashing. Panic and fear flooded her system as she rushed to find the girls.

Why did Danny have to be here? Her mother was screaming at the top of her lungs, Star had to do something. Pulling out her phone from her handbag, Star had then called the police as she rushed up to her sisters. Star could hear Danny right behind her. This had gone on long enough and she was suddenly glad to have Danny with her.

She heard the operator ask what the emergency was, but she knew the noise her mother was making and the screams of the twins gave the operator a small idea of what was going on. This wasn't the first time her mother had been this way, it's been going on for a while now; ever since their father had been arrested. Star tried to take as much of the beatings as possible, but her mother- Dash's aunt- had done her damage on the twins. The only thing that Star was thankful for- until now- was that the wounds and bruises were never where someone could see them.

Once the police said they were on their way she found her sisters, who looked just like Star; even if one had black hair instead of blonde, huddled in a corner; hugging each other; as her mother held a broken glass of alcohol over her head as she screamed at her daughters. Blood was smeared on the twin's skin.

Star remembered when it was her in her sisters' position as her father would be doing the same thing that her mother was, plus some. Though, that stopped when he began to drown himself in his work. It was why she stopped being around the A-listers at school, she hung out with them, but she mainly did her homework instead of talking.

Freezing at the amount of blood that was under the twins was concerning. Out of the corner of her eye, Star saw Danny walk up behind her mother before raising a hand- in a karate chop motion- and hitting it hard enough to knock her mother out.

The brunette fell limp and her sisters came running towards her crying their eyes out. Danny, she noticed, was glaring darkly at their mother. He knew the twins wanted to stay with Star for now, and he didn't mind. This creature before his feet needed to be dealt with.

"I'm going to bring her out front," Danny mumbled, "come down when they are okay."

Star only nodded as she listened to what her sisters were saying.

"Mommy was so scary," Celeste, the oldest twin said. Her shoulder had a huge gash on it.

"Where does it hurt most," Star asked worriedly as she guided them towards the front yard. It had been a good while before they had stopped crying enough to talk once again- ten minutes maybe. The police were just pulling in her driveway as they sat on the ground.

Luna, the other youngest, pulled her sleeve up to show a bruise in the shape of a hand, but there was a slash going up to her forearm that looked bad. Star shook her head and asked for one of the female officers to follow her inside.

Star showed them all of the wounds that had been inflicted on them- her body was worse than the twins; the twins still had a fair share of wounds on their bodies as well. The police cringed and took photos as the girls all answered the questions that were asked.

"We're going to call your grandparents," an officer said gently. "Could we get a number?"

Nodding, Star gave the number of her grandparents' place. She just didn't want to be alone for a while seeing as she had to be a rock for her sisters. Star wished she had someone she could lean on.

"I could stay the night," Danny said as he walked up beside her, the twins quickly gripping themselves onto his legs. "If you want."

"Please," Star asked lightly. Tears forming in her dark blue eyes. "We won't be staying here, though, we will have to go to our other home."

Danny nodded his head, allowing the black-haired version of Star to climb up to his shoulders. The blonde one had been handed over to her big sister before they all walked over to the other house further up the street.

"My car has a flat in three of the four wheels," Danny said as he rubbed his neck awkwardly. "I may have taken my anger out on the car..." Star knew she would have to find a new way to get to the school on time, she only had her permit, for tomorrow as well as her sisters. As if reading her mind Danny spoke up, "I can drive us to school tomorrow."

"I'll hand you the keys when we leave the house," Star said with a small smile. It looked forced and Danny didn't blame her.

It didn't feel awkward staying the night as Danny slept on the couch in Star's room as the three girls laid in the king-sized bed. The twins begged him to stay, saying they felt safer knowing he was close by.

Star had waited until the twins were sleeping before calling her grandparents to call her school to give permission for her to go on the trip. It wasn't hard for her to convince them, since they wanted her to have some fun and get away from the drama that her mother had caused.

When it was time for school the next day, Danny dropped the twins off to the elementary school before he went to high school. What annoyed Star was that everyone was looking at them as if the two had announced that they were having sex together.

_It'll last longer if they took a picture, _Star thought bitterly. Out of the blue, Danny was grabbed and smashed against the wall. She saw that it was her block-head of a cousin, Dash. Dash was the only one who still didn't stop the bullying when Danny became feared whenever he glared; which was almost all the time Star realized.

"Put him down, Dash," Star spat.

Dash didn't even listen to her as he threw a punch at Danny, but Danny caught the meaty fist in his firm one. Outraged, Dash used his other arm pulled back to try again. Star grabbed Dash's arm and held it back. Why wasn't Danny trying to get away from the blonde jock? Why was he fighting back? Doesn't Danny realize that Dash won't stop until he proves he is the top dog?

The jock turned his glare on her and punched her in the stomach, which led Danny to kick the jock back. His own fist then connecting with Dash's temple knocking the jock unconscious. Making sure he was out, Danny checked on Star on the ground.

Paulina, who stood in horror at what just happened, glared at the jock and stormed over and kicked him right between the legs. Danny couldn't tell if Paulina was genuinely horrified or if she was just trying to gain the attention on her.

The two raven-haired teens helped Star over towards their homeroom trying to help her to breathe.

When they were in the room, Paulina then left- storming to wherever she will. Whoever was in her path, well Danny almost felt bad for them. Slightly. Not really. Just before she was gone, she stopped at the door, her head went back to look at the pained blonde, "take deep and slow breaths, Chica."

"Wrong." The Latina looked at him with angry eyes, challenging Danny to correct her. Sure, "Star breathe _with _me."

Danny then began taking slow and shallow breaths every five breaths he would go a little deeper. Star copying Danny shakily, Paulina looked amazed at the two. Eventually, Star was breathing just fine and was sitting back allowing her middle to not be scrunched up. His hands gently lifted her faded pink hoodie enough to see her stomach, there wasn't going to be a bruise, but it will be sore for a while.

"Thank you," Star said with a smile at Danny gratefully.

"Whatever," Danny huffed- it was too early for this. Especially when he had to fight three strong ghosts last night. The blonde watched as Danny got up and sat in the seat behind her.

Star leaned back in her chair, her eyes closed as she felt the dulled ache in her abdomen. Danny must have learned how to control his breathing when he was being bullied- and possibly with all of the fights that he seemed to get into after school.

Sam and Tucker were the last to enter the class as the sat on the other side of Danny. Which, Star noticed, caused Danny to growl and scoot himself further back from them and slightly closer to her.

"Hey Danny," Sam said with a flirty smile. Her hand was covered in silver sharpie- Phantoms Logo here her wrist was.

"What's up, dude," Tucker said with a false cheer to his tone.

Danny glared at them- the two gulped and turned around to face the front. Only it didn't last long since Sam turned around and placed a kiss on his lips. Stunned, Star looked away.

Danny went wide-eyed before standing up quickly- making his chair fall down loudly. The class looked over at them with curious looks to their faces. Even Dash looked interested in what was going down.

"What the fuck, Danny," Sam said as she wiped her thumb over her bottom lip. Blood smeared against her skin. "I thought you wanted us together."

"I want nothing to do with a bitch like you," Danny said as he forced Star to stand. "I'm sitting here. You can sit here."

Danny pointed to his lap- which Star blushed at. There wasn't much time to choose as Maddie and Jack had entered the room. So, Star sighed and placed herself on his lap. This was so embarrassing.

"Hi, Danny," Danny heard Maddie cheer from the front of the classroom. He didn't respond other than glancing at the woman known as his mother. Jack had already signed the form he took before leaving yesterday- so Danny had to do this. Instead, he decided to braid Star's hair. Seeing as how they were in a rush that morning.

Now that his class was being taught by Maddie and Jack, Danny had to be wary about weapons flying in his direction. Then there was the participation part of the day where students are required to go to his home to use some of his parents' weapons. Danny could honestly say, he hated it. They knew next to nothing important about the ghost, other than that they had obsessions and that was it. The two only considers ghost as evil ectoplasmic beings.

Star had noticed that Danny would mouth things to himself, things she found interesting so after the first twenty minutes, she would pay more attention to what Danny would say. She learned a lot from his mumblings, things that made so much more sense than what his parents were saying. She still paid attention to them, but Danny's mumblings were useful and it seemed as if each ghost had a story to tell. Halfway through the third hour of the class, Danny noticed that Star was writing down everything he was saying to himself and he almost smiled.

"Did you know that there is a ghost who has an obsession over the timeline, and watches the many timelines of the universe?"

"Whoa," Star said with wide eyes as she wrote down what he said. He also grabbed a pen and a piece of paper- writing down some common facts about the ghosts.

It felt good to know that someone wanted to learn about the truth about ghosts, not what Maddie and Jack spewed out. He wanted humans to know that ghosts' do feel. They have feelings and feel pain. They can still have a family, it is just a little more complicated than what humans do.

Star took every word he said- not noticing that Danny had his arms around her waist as he spoke to her. Sam and Tucker had taken to kissing in the back of the class as his parents were arguing about some facts. His parents hadn't even paid attention to the fact that most of the students weren't even listening.

When it was time to go to his place Star told Danny about her terrible aim when it came to the moving targets. She told him she once hit a jock in his nuts while playing kickball; the thing was, she was the pitcher. So after Danny had made everyone a lunch, he watched how she held her weapon and how she took aim. First at a none moving target.

Instantly, Danny saw that Star held the gun either too loosely or too tightly, as she pulled the trigger, her hand would fly up with the powerful kick of the weapon of the release. "Your posture sucks. You can't hold it right, and your hold is so weak that the kick moves your hands up."

"You don't hold back, do you," Star had asked dryly. Though, she was still grateful that he took the time to help her.

If she paid close enough attention she would see the small smile on his face. He walked up towards her and moved behind her. He used his foot to move her feet in the right positions as his hands trailed over her arms and down to her hands. "Your feet should be like this instead of standing straight like a stick. Loosen your body, the kick of this gun will send you flying like it had the last couple of times, so use your core to keep from going back."

Star listened to his instructions, allowing her body to loosen a bit and she felt more balanced than she had. "How do I hold it?"

Danny moved his head to rest on her shoulder, "firm, but not too tight." His fingers went into her palm, "right now you have it too loose. Allow your palms to rest under and around the handle, perfect. Fire."

Star closed her left eye and fired the gun, hitting the stilled target. "I...I did it."

"You did," Danny said lightly. "Now when you have a moving target hit where the target will be and not where it is." For the rest of that class, they practiced on the still target.

Danny had gone with Star to her home, after picking up the twins from school. Helping the two with the homework that they brought after dinner, Star had taken them to get a bath in before putting the two to bed. "I'll use the one in the room I am in."

Danny walked up the stairs to ready for bed. Not long after he was dressed, Star came in- notebook in hand- with a shy smile. "Could you teach me more?"

"I could do better," Danny said. He grabbed his laptop, patting the bed beside him. As she sat, he pulled up a slide show of all the ghosts he had ever fought or met since he became Danny Phantom- not that she knew that. He told her all about the more known ghosts.

Ember McLain, pop diva- powerful especially when her name is being chanted. Box Ghost, box obsessed ghost- weak but instant to strike terror in humans. Skulker, the hunter of rare creatures; powerful but his real body is tiny and hidden in the head of his suit. Desiree, the wish-granting ghost- powerful and grants wishes with a twist if one isn't specific.

They were only able to get in those four, but Danny told her she was allowed to check the slide show anytime she wanted, so long as he gets it back. An hour in, Star had fallen asleep with her head on his shoulder.

He placed her onto a pillow before walking to the bathroom to change forms, just so he could patrol for a bit. As he changed he turned invisible and intangible before heading out of the house. Danny went around the town three times, nothing important- he had to fight the box ghost; have some friendly banter with Ember and her friends. It wasn't until he got back to Star's and changed back into his human form that something interesting happened.

It had nothing to do with a ghost, but with the twins. The two were whimpering as they stood outside of his door, arguing over who would knock first. Deciding to just open the door and let them in, Danny made himself look as tired as he could.

It wasn't hard.

"Hey," he mumbled as he rubbed his eye. "Can't sleep?"

"It's scary," Celeste spoke.

"We wanted to see if we could sleep here," Luna said shyly.

"Sure," Danny shrugged opening the doorway, "I was about to shower before going to sleep."

The two looked at the other before asking a random question. "Are you gonna were a swimsuit?"

"I mean," Danny said lightly as he bent down to their level, "I could, but I don't want to." The two went silent for a moment, but Danny knew they didn't want to be alone. "Star fell asleep in here while we were studying. You could join her?"

They still hesitated. "Could we sit in the bathroom while you shower?"

Danny looked at the black-haired one with wide eyes. Sure, the shower was huge, so he could put his clothes on the other side without them getting wet. But, he wanted privacy. The shower doors were frosted, so they wouldn't see anything other than his silhouette. What if they fell asleep in there as he was showering?

_You are weak with them._

Sighing, Danny grabbed a towel and a pair of pajamas before heading into the bathroom to shower. He left the door open. Danny just hates that he is weak with the twins. The two followed Danny in, keeping close to the shower he would use.

As he finished the shower, Danny dropped the towel on the shower floor to make it seem as if he used it. He turned intangible to get the water off of him and changed into the clean clothes he brought. When he got out, the two girls were curled together fast asleep.

He knew they would fall asleep. Walking into the bedroom he saw Star curled up on one side of the bed, over the covers. What a pain. Picking up the two girls, he placed them comfortably on the mattress before joining them on the other side. The girls were in the middle of he and Star. With his powers, Danny made the comforter cover them all up for the night.


	4. Home

**_A few months prior._**

_Danny noticed the silence from his friends since they came back from the Ghost Zone, they had just spoken to Clockwork about important matters. He had noticed that Sam and Tucker stood in front of Danny with blank looks in their eyes; Danny recognized those looks. Those were the looks that Danny knew meant that they needed to talk. The white-haired boy flew about his basement to clean up the mess that the Spector Speeder had made before he faced his friends._

_With a gentle smile, Danny told them they could talk on the way to school, but they never said anything until the trio was close to the school's library. It was a bit uncomfortable for him, nothing he could do about it until they spoke up._

_"Danny," Sam said with a weak voice._

_Danny opened the library door to let them inside. "What's up?"_

_Tucker refused to look Danny in the eyes, but Sam looked him dead in the eye, but she wouldn't stop fidgetting. "We can't do these activities anymore."_

_Stunned, Danny blinked before sighing in fake relief. There is something they weren't saying, "that's all?"_

_Faintly, Danny could see Star not far beside him. She had looked in his direction with a soft smile. Normal. He gave her a soft smile as well before facing his friends again. Star he likes out of all the A-listers, mainly because she is nice._

_Now it was Sam and Tucker's turn to look owlish, "huh?"_

_Danny laughed lightly as he sat on one of the soft seats that were in the library. "I mean, this _would _keep you the two out of danger, and I am all for it." The bell rang and Danny felt a chill go past his lips, he knew it wasn't anything dangerous, but he had a plan. Cujo is not a threat. "Can you tell Lancer that I forgot something at home for me?"_

_Danny knew they were hiding something, but he was glad that he was able to use his ghost sense as an excuse to leave. When the two had agreed, Danny rushed off and turned to a corner. Instead of changing and going after Cujo to put him back in the ghost zone, he changed after turning invisible before he followed Sam and Tucker._

_"Why didn't you tell him we were breaking up with him," Tucker asked in a hiss. He glared at anyone who looked in their way. He was pissed, Danny noticed, and he was taking it out on anyone that wasn't Sam._

_"You heard what Clockwork had said," Sam hissed back. "If he loses his emotions then Dark Dan is back. He is too dangerous to be around. Especially if that happens."_

_Tucker nodded as he sat in his seat. "I guess that makes sense. If Dan gets out then it's the end of the world."_

_"You don't say," Sam said sarcastically._

_"But...I actually kind of want nothing more to do with him, Sam." His hand grasped hers and pulled her close to him. Danny was becoming very hurt by this, but he needed to know what was going on. "I love you, Sam, and if he is in the picture with us then we will be dead faster than we could blink."_

_Was that what they thought of him? A death trap? Since when did Sam and Tucker have feelings for each other? Didn't Tucker have a thing for Star? What about Sam? She had not indicated liking anyone, let alone Tucker._

_"I know, Tuck, I love you too." She was silent for a moment before her eyes looked into Tucker's green ones, "how about this? We'll pretend to be his friends for a bit longer before we run away from that freak of nature."_

_Tucker sealed their plan with a kiss. "Deal."_

_Danny had left not long after that and took his rage out on the box ghost. If only he would be more prepared later that day when he goes to enter his room._

Danny shot up from the bed with a headache as the memory of that day came to the front of his mind. His eyes glanced at the clock seeing it was four in the morning, he decided to make breakfast before school.

* * *

Lancer had been watching as all of his students; who all seemed to be failing with target practice. He was about ready to see if the mayor could choose another class because of how terrible all of his students were doing. Especially with the class lessons before the practical lessons. Foley and Manson's parents took them out of the class, as well as the school. Both families had decided to move up the continent.

Lancer wanted to bash his head in the padded walls of the basement; he failed as a teacher if none of his students were taking this training seriously- but then he caught sight of Danny holding Star in an intimate way. He almost yelled at them for inappropriate behavior and the public display of affection.

Danny was standing behind Star, his hands on her hips- Lancer saw his thumbs rubbing her hip- as his mouth was softly talking into her ear. For the first time this week, Lancer saw that Star had her hair up in a high pony-tail, but that didn't seem to stop the younger Fenton from touching and moving the blonde girl to his liking.

Lancer was about to go over and remove the two from each other. That was until he saw how Star, who was one of the worse shots of the entire school; hit the target while it was moving. He was so stunned he almost didn't notice the hug that Star gave the dark-haired boy, but he did.

The old teacher was surprised that Danny had allowed someone to hug him, he hadn't seen the boy act like the happy go lucky kid he used to, but it would appear that Star had wormed her way to Danny's closed-up heart.

He knew about how Samantha and Tucker began to whisper behind Danny's back, but he thought that they would resolve whatever it was, but by the time he had offered his support and help, Danny had glared so darkly at him that Lancer feared he had wet himself. Lancer was also surprised by the genuine small smile that he saw Star wear on her face that he figured he would let things go for now.

Whatever it was that those two were doing, he wasn't going to stop it because it was helping the two students who had seemed to need it the most. For now, he will observe how Danny would teach Star and try and use that knowledge to help the other students who truly needed help. Sure, he could ask Danny to teach the others- but it wouldn't work out too well. Danny was pretty feared when he looks at someone, mainly because of his glare that never seems to leave his face.

* * *

Since Star and Danny had finished the activities for the day, they had gone upstairs to relax on the living room couch. Star had been sore and slightly out of breath, but she didn't complain. Yet, she knew Danny knew since he gave her some pain killers. She welcomed the pain, it reminded her that she was able to do something physical and be able to do it.

Every time the gym would roll around on her schedule her teachers would have her do something else as per Star's request. They wanted her to try, but she felt she would mess up and hurt someone if she participated in something that wasn't gymnastics, dance, or swimming. Now, she feels she could participate and not worry about hurting someone on accident.

Ever since the beginning of the week, Danny had been training her here and at her house- where he also seemed to be staying around more. Though that was because of the twins and he can't seem to say no to them. He would have her run for ten minutes- with breaks in between- in the morning, do an exercise routine that he will do with her. Then they would do some studying before they would have to head to the school.

During the training at his parents' home, Danny would help her with her hand-eye coordination, then he will have her work on her balance as well as her flexibility. Then they would go get the twins from school before getting dinner ready- it's after dinner where she does another five minutes of running and a lighter work-out.

At first, Star hated it, but after a few days; Star had come to love the way the training made her feel. Star already made healthy meals, but she never drank a lot of water- but the exercising had her drinking a lot more water. It also helped clear her mind with the studying of the different types of ghosts. Even her mood had improved.

Star had asked to practice self-defense- in case she had no weapon and she was being cornered by a ghost- so he began to teach her as much as he could. Eventually, that ended up in actual fistfights, which she is surprisingly good at.

"Do you know what we are doing tomorrow?" Danny threw a kick to Star's waist, but she blocked it and gave a false punch.

"Sadly." When he dodged the punch, Star used her leg to hook it behind Danny's knee- making him fall on the mat in the living room.

Lancer had been watching the two since the older Fenton's seem to have things handled down in the lab. He was intrigued by how Star and Danny seem to be in their own world- but he found that he enjoyed watching them practice since he noticed how Danny had been teaching Star. Something about the way they seemed to slowly move in a dance as they practiced or sparred.

"Will you tell me," Star asked as she sat on his hips, her hands holding his wrist's down.

"No," Danny took a deep breath, thankful he was fairly flexible. His legs wrapped around her middle and forced them so he was on top. Though, it was hard because she was a squirmy one.

"Please," Star gave her best pout.

Did she have to do that when he was on top of her in a compromising position? He went gave her a blank look, she was not going to use teenage hormones on her side. Danny then sighed dramatically as he fell back on the front of the couch.

"Tomorrow we will be taking a quiz on what we learned from this week. They'll be preparing for the things that they will need for a twenty-four-hour trip to the zone."

Star smiled and relaxed some more. "Sounds like fun," she said sarcastically.

"Well," Danny groaned as he removed himself from Star- the other students were coming up now, "at least you don't have to live here."

Danny was right, Star realized. The Fenton adults were crazy- and it shows in how the house looks inside it. It is a complete mess. The only reason that Danny and Star were able to train was that Danny always would clear a spot for them to use. On the walls there was a lot of green goop- Danny said it's called ectoplasm- as well as on every other flat surface.

"Who does the cleaning," Star asked.

"Me."

Since Danny hadn't been home in almost a week, the house had gotten quite chaotic. He cringed because his parents hadn't even noticed that he wasn't home; he felt more like the parent in their relationship. Jazz had always been more parental to him; Danny doesn't even consider his parents to be his parents. They don't deserve the right to be called that.

Star frowned. She had come to like Danny a lot, but could she allow Danny to continue living in a place as chaotic as his parent's home? How does he seem to always have the money to get groceries and gas? He doesn't have a job from what she had seen, he doesn't really leave unless it was for school or to the store.

"Do you have a job," Star asked with a furrowed brow.

"No."

"Then how do you get your money?" Was she right when she thought he was hanging around with the wrong crowd? Does he steal? Or do dirty work at night and get paid for it? Was he in a gang?

"Ever heard of the author called D.J. Fenton?"

"Yes," Star squealed, "I love his books!" Danny gave her a mocking bow.

The silence was what he was met with as Star took in the words he spoke. He found it amusing to him to see the normally put together girl was gaping at him like a fish. It felt like a lifetime since he had ever felt as relaxed as he did at this very moment, but he didn't mind it too much. It had been a long time since he had felt that happy, until now.

"You're not lying, are you," Star asked in a deadly serious voice.

"Do I look like I am?"

"Alright," Maddie called, "today was the last day of classes. Tomorrow we will be testing you on your progress with the targets, the top three highest scores will be allowed a weapon."

"You may leave the house," Jack said as he was preoccupied with another invention.

"Don't forget to hand in the permission slips that Mister Lancer gave you on Monday." She already had two signed permission slips, one for her son and the other for Star.

As everyone filed out of the house, Star and Danny did their normal routine. Nothing exciting happened, but when it was time for the testing Danny, Star, and Valarie had passed the test with flying colors. Since it was Friday, Danny had offered to treat Star and her sisters to watch a movie and go to a restaurant.

Star had already hired a Nanny to watch the twins until she came back. Danny found it odd that the nanny said that she would be staying for longer in case something were to happen while they were out on the trip. Suspicious.

As it was Saturday, she and her sisters would be packing Danny's bags to move in with them. Luna, the shy one, often kept as close to Star as possible while Celeste hid behind Luna, so Star knew they were uncomfortable with the Fenton's house. She couldn't blame them, as it was chaos compared to the clean home they lived in.

Getting Danny to agree to move in with them was slightly easier than Star had thought, even Danny's parents' agreed to let him move out and live in Stars home.

_"He'll be eighteen on Monday," _Maddie had said.

Once the three were finished, they walked to their home, Danny thought that they would be packing his things on Sunday- she may have lied so she could have some sister time with the twins. Star felt as if she wasn't spending any time with her sisters since their mother was arrested.

Luna held her hand tightly as if afraid that something would get them, which wouldn't be that far off the bat with all the ghosts that tend to come into the living world. Celeste had dragged her feet against the ground tiredly, often tripping over her feet. They were tired after a whole morning of having fun at the park with Danny- they seemed to have grown very attached to Danny, maybe it's because he saved them from being harmed by their mother. Then again, they were attached before the incident. Star felt ashamed of how she had frozen up when she saw what was happening, but she was glad that Danny was there to save her sisters.

A bang brought Star out of her watching her siblings to the tree above them to see a robotic looking ghost in a tangled mess high in the branches. Not a second later, Phantom came and sucked the ghost in his thermos before floating down to the ground. The tree was lit with green flames, but Phantom blasted the fire with his ice powers.

"Sorry if I scared you three," Phantom said lightly. His eyes trailed over the three of them, but Star wasn't sure why it made her feel familiar with the gaze. "Are you all okay?" His gaze landed on Danny's luggage.

"We're fine," Celeste drawled tiredly.

"Whoa," Luna gasped as she reached forward to pull a branch out of Phantom's arm. "Are you okay, mister?"

Phantom looked at the black-haired girl with a frown as he flinched away from her touching his branch, "I'm fine."

Star saw something familiar about the way Phantom moved away from anyone, so she walked forward and took a gentle grasp of the branch. "Here." As she took the branch out she saw Phantom's eyes turn from their glowing green to a beautiful blue that she remembered seeing from so many times before. Once the branch was out Star smiled at the ghost boy, "you know you remind me of a friend of mine. His name is Danny Fenton."

She watched as Phantom froze at the name, and suddenly something seemed to have clicked in her mind. "Come on, Danny, let's get home."

Started, Phantom went invisible before returning to being seen. "How...?"

"It's kind of easy," Luna said as she grabbed the ghost boy's hand, "you look a lot alike and you got a mommy and daddy who love ghosts."

"So you must have become a ghost because of that," Celeste finished for her sister. Their blue-green eyes gazed at Danny trustingly. "Plus, you are never in the bed when we go to the bathroom."

"Then you come back when we wake up from bad dreams."

Danny changed into his human self before walking beside the Strong's. The air around them felt weird at first, but Celeste change that when she jumped on Danny's back before snoring quite quickly. Star couldn't help the giggle that slipped as she picked up Luna into her arms, all of the bags being on her back, to see Danny look at Celeste with exasperated amusement.

"That was Skulker, right," Star asked.

"Yeah," Danny said with a small frown. "Um, you guys aren't afraid of me, are you? Like, you won't leave me because it gets pretty dangerous?"

Star giggled and waited for Danny to unlock the house so they could get her sisters settled into bed- even though they will most likely end up sleeping in Danny's room as she would probably be asleep after reading the notes Danny made about the ghosts. Danny had gone to his room to rest before Star steals his tablet to use.

It wasn't hard for Star to learn why Danny changed a while back. They were afraid. She might be afraid, but Danny shouldn't have to deal with the responsibilities of being a hero alone. He needed some normalcy in his life.

"Danny?" A soft groan came from him. "I am afraid," Danny sat up, "but, I won't leave you. Not like Sam and Tucker had."

Star had seen the longing was flooding his eyes. Danny longed to trust her, but he was damaged. "I'll prove it to you."


	5. Let's go

**Six months ago.**

Every single member of the Ghost Zone was gathered at Pariah's Keep, most were shuddering in terror at the memories of what had transpired a couple of years ago. Every single ghost in the room was willing to hide in fear from the tyrant known as Pariah Dark; everyone except a baby half-ghost known as Danny Phantom, who is also known as Danny Fenton.

Had it not been for Danny, the Ghost Zone and the human realm would have been under the complete and terrible control of Pariah. Danny had been fighting Pariah alone for a good hour before the rest of the ghosts helped with the minions of Pariah. Danny was the last to have seen the Ghost King, but the sarcophagus he was in was shattered and there had been a glowing red smoke that was blowing out from the wall.

Both the Ring of Rage and the Crown of Fire were no longer glowing red, but a rather bright green. The ghost zone was saved by a baby ghost who was also human.

Then again, if Vlad Plasmius hadn't been so power-hungry then the tyrant king would never have been woken up.

They would have invited Plasmius and Phantom, Phantom they trust, but they didn't trust Plasmius. If they invited Phantom then there was the chance that Plasmius would find out and follow the younger halfa. That was one risk they weren't going to take, plus there was the small chance that Plasmius would just try and convince everyone to let him keep an eye on the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage.

Not.

Happening.

So, now after everyone had fixed their homes, they decided together to make a meeting to decide what to do with the broken pieces of the sarcophagus that contained the king. Many just wanted to leave it there; where no one would have to worry over what to do with the king. Had it not been for Ember, that idea would have been taken once again.

"What if Plasmius finds out where we hid the crown and ring? No one other than Pariah was able to control it."

Murmurs rang around the castle, some wondering the same thing. If they stationed guards out there was a chance that someone could get past them and do the same as Plasmius. Eyes glanced at the ring and flaming crown.

"How was Pariah able to control the ring and crown?"

Clockwork, the ghost of time, floated to the front of the room. His body shifting to different ages as he went, everyone's eyes watched as one of the oldest and most powerful ghosts to ever exist made his way up in front of the crowd of ghosts'.

"By making a connection with the two objects. Though, I think we should be thinking more about what we should do for having a new ruler for the Zone."

Silence. That was what the ghost of time was met with. He knew it would happen, but he wanted to watch what would play out. Beside him, was the container containing Danny's biggest enemy- Dan Phantom- his future self. Metaphorically, everyone is their own worst enemy, but for Danny, he became his worst enemy in an alternate reality. He truly is his worst enemy.

"Why not have a vote," a random male voice asked.

Agreements rang out, and everyone began placing their votes out. There were three total candidates. Dan- since he wasn't going to be a threat at all in the near future. Clockwork, for he is one of the most powerful and levelheaded ghosts that many knew of. The last wasn't as shocking to anyone, Danny Phantom. Danny was the most considerate and passionate ghost there was. He was young though, but that didn't mean that he wasn't responsible or powerful enough to rule.

"Who won?"

**Present**.

"Good morning, Danny," Star called when she saw Danny enter the classroom the morning of the trip. They live together now, but her grandparents had come back a couple of nights ago and the two weren't happy that she allowed a boy to live with her and her sisters. She was happy to relieve the nanny of watching her siblings. Danny was right to be wary of her since she worked with Vlad Masters.

It was worse since Dash came to visit them- they were his grandparents as well- and tried to beat Danny up the entire night. Danny wasn't as tired as Dash; since Dash was passed out beside Paulina, snoring up a storm. They were so perfect together it wasn't funny.

While Danny didn't seem to care, Star was mortified at the conclusions her grandparents made about Danny the first night they had come back. Her grandfather had a sit down with Danny to ask about his intentions- he did have a knack for knowing when someone was lying to him- with Star and her sisters.

Was he trying to have sex with Star? Was he some hooligan who doesn't have a job and was using his granddaughter's kind heart to freeload? Was he a freeloader? Was he a pedophile? Harold listened very closely to what Danny said, even looked up the books that Danny said he wrote, and was pleased that Danny wasn't a freeloader, nor a pedophile. Harold was even more pleased that Danny had taken up the male role of the house, but he was bothered that he would have to retake the position until the two high-schoolers were graduated.

Her grandmother was with Star looking over the security footage of the house, but she didn't find anything that had shown Danny was up to no good. Though Evaline did see the footage of the shower scene- where the twins begged Danny to go in the bathroom with him. Evaline wasn't pleased, but she watched what had happened in the bathroom and was glad to know that Danny would check on the two to make sure they were where they were supposed to be.

She even learned about Danny's secret identity- but she deleted all the footage for the sake of keeping his secret. Danny was a good person, Evaline realize, and eventually came to like Danny, but Harold yelled at the teen in the basement all night and wouldn't stop until fifteen minutes before they had to leave for school. He too also grew to like Danny. Dash, he also had a screaming fest with. Harold loved his grandson, but he was so hard-headed that it made it hard to think he would be fine on his own.

Harold was not happy that he had to wait another year before they graduated. He even put up a few rules for Danny if he was going to stay at their home. All reasonable, if Danny agreed with no arguments from him.

"_Are you sure he is even a teenager_," Harold asked Star the next morning before school. After he watched Danny bring the twins to school. "_He is much too mature._"

"_Yes, Pops. He just turned eighteen yesterday._" Harold handed her bag and dropped her off at the school.

"_I like him._"

Danny had to drop the twins off in their first class of the day as one of the rules Harold had made, it was difficult to get the twins to let go of his legs, but he managed. Star was glad that Danny also agreed to teach her to drive- her grandfather would log the hours that they would make, after a weekend drive with him. If she met his expectations for that week, he would log the hours Danny would write on a paper in his office.

"Mornin'," Danny spat. Star was surprised that instead of sitting by himself, he had sat right beside her. Danny wouldn't sit by anyone unless required to do so.

"Trip getting to you?"

Danny slumped to the top of the desk, a tired sigh coming from him. The twins were particularly clingy today, not that it bothered him much, but he needed to get to the school so he could be on the trip. If anything, Danny was only going because Star was and she had become someone that Danny would like to protect from harm.

"Did you know that this would be their first time going inside the Zone? Not only the students and Lancer but Maddie and Jack as well. Well, other than that incident with Pariah Dark, but that hardly counts because no one ever explored the area. That and everyone thought that it was just the shield that was making the green swirls."

Star was stunned speechless. They were being brought in to the place ghosts live and their tour guides had never been inside. Danny had a point with the whole ghost king thing, and she wasn't happy that they hadn't taken another chance to explore since then. It is beyond dangerous to go if they hadn't scoped the area out before. Why would the Fenton adults be so stupid? Didn't they realize that they just put the students' lives in more danger by doing this? Had Danny been to the Zone before?

She wanted to hit her head for the stupid question. Of course, Danny had, he is Danny Phantom after all and he has images of every ghost's home on his slide show as well as a perfect image that perfected each one of the ghosts of the Zone. She also overheard a conversation with Danny and a ghost in a dark purple cloak. The ghost had told Danny he had been elected to be the new ruler of the Zone, and he had to make the executive decision of what he wanted to do with Pariah Dark. He needn't a photo for the Ghost King, his image had been ingrained in her mind since she saw him.

Star was proud of Danny. She could see him becoming a great ruler for the ghosts, and the humans would be safe as well. Danny was the perfect candidate for bringing the ghosts to a better era. He was a halfa, so he knew what was best for both humans and ghosts.

Star placed a hand on Danny's shoulder, the raven-haired man just leaned into her touch- never once lifting his head off the table. At moments like this, Star saw just how stressed out Danny was. She wished, more than anything, that she could help him relax more; she already got him to open up a bit towards her, so maybe she could ease his stress a little. "Is there anything I could do?"

"Unless you could somehow cancel this trip of disaster?"

"So," Star sighed, "no." Out of nowhere, she heard a faint rumble coming from Danny. Though he gave no reaction that it was him, Star knew it was. "Here, have a Snickers bar."

Danny gave a wide grin and took half of Star's candy bar. "I am _so _going to marry you." Star shook her head with a soft look. It was amusing to learn that Danny had a major sweet-tooth. "Seriously though, I won't be able to do much if something bad were to happen. Even if I am in line for the throne. No one else can learn of my secret or you could be in danger."

Not that Danny really cared about if people knew his secret anymore. He just didn't want people trying to use Star and her sisters to get to him, he would never forgive himself if something were to have happened to his girls because of him.

Danny would blame himself if the twins ever had to go through the same thing if his secret got out. If Star were taken to get to him- he would do anything to keep her safe. He would even hand himself in if he had to. She was his just as much as the twins- maybe more so.

Before Star could say anything about knowing Danny was going to be King-to-be of the Zone, the door opened to a Mister Lancer with a clipboard in hand; his eyes grazing each word on the paper carefully. He only took his eyes off the paper long enough to find a face he was looking for, Star hated silent rollcalls. They felt awkward to her.

Star gazed at the side of Danny's face as she waited. His wound had healed completely- though there was a rough-looking scar on his cheek. He had said it healed Tuesday, but he didn't want her to be suspicious of how his wound had magically healed and not have a real explanation for it.

His hair was hidden under a hoodie once again. She was wearing one of his smaller hoodies because she had asked to borrow one for the trip. Something about having him wear a hoodie and give it to her later made her feel happy. She just didn't know why. At least she did as it was snowing heavily.

"Let us head towards the Fenton's."

Danny took to walking behind the rest of the students in the class, Star walking right beside him. She wondered how many halfa's there are in the world. She knew of Dani Phantom- Danny's clone cousin made by one of his arch-enemies, but there was one more. Star would like to know who it was, but Danny was persistent in keeping their identity a secret. Danny had said it wasn't his secret to tell. The only question she had was, was there more than just the three that Danny knew of?

Danny just shook his head no, saying that halfa's are rare. It made Star wish she could be one, just so she could understand what Danny felt.

The walk to the Fenton's place was rather nice, Star thought. No one bothered with the two, but that could possibly be because they were all too excited about the trip they were about to embark on. That or the weather prevented them from trying to interact with anyone that wasn't close by. Either way; it was a breath of fresh air.

Star had offered to help Danny however she could with keeping everyone from paying him any attention, but somehow she knew her efforts would be in vain. Danny was someone people tended to search for to be sure they weren't near him.

The inside of the home was finally cleaned; somewhat; and it wasn't long before Jack and Maddie took everyone in the basement, giving out new shoes and some extra supplies.

Star thought it was a good idea to have back up equipment, "Danny wouldn't it have been nice to pack extra?"

Danny turned towards Star- a mocking smirk on his lips. "I only need to keep you safe. Jack and Maddie can handle the other students'."

A deep sigh, Star knew Danny had issues with the other students- even though he constantly fought the other ghosts' to keep the town safe- but that shouldn't mean he ignores them when in a dangerous area. She also knew that Danny would fight to keep everyone safe if it came down to it, which probably made for a better back-up. He had been working hard on trying to clone himself all weekend when he thought she wasn't paying attention.

"If you say so," Star gave a small smile, wrapping his extra hoodie closer to her body, "but you better keep me safe if you want your hoodie uninjured."

A real laugh came from Danny and Star couldn't stop the giggle that came from her lips. "Will do, Starlight. Will do."

"Alright," Maddie called. "Would everyone please wear one of these hazmat suits? I know they aren't the most appealing to the eye, but they will keep you safe in case of a ghost thinks to shoot at you. Ectoplasm isn't dangerous to humans, but it will make it slightly harder to breathe if you are injured."

She stepped aside to let the students grab a suit- even Paulina didn't argue with her on the style. Danny and Star went to put on their own suits, but Star lost balance and tumbled into Danny.

"Get off," Danny groaned. "Floor is hard."

"Sorry," Star got off and zipped the front of her Hazmat up.

Being handed a few weapons by Jack and Maddie, Danny had to help Star place them on her body. It was her first time wearing a hazmat suit, so she needed some assistance.

As they finished, Danny ripped the logo of Jack's face off the front of the suits. "All the boots have memory foam in them because Jack likes how they feel."

Nodding her head, Star and Danny got on the Spector Speeder bus.


	6. The Zone

**How in the world did this get so popular?**

As the Spectre Speeder was inside of the Zone the other teens in the vehicle _oohed _and _ahhed _at the swirling green atmosphere. It wasn't as new to Danny, so he just relaxed his head on the headrest letting the ectoplasm fill his body. It had been too long since Danny had been in the Zone and it made him feel much more relaxed.

Though, Danny never let his guard down. He was still where his enemies reside in the open during the day so he was an easy target with all these people who know nothing about him being Phantom. Still, he was glad that he didn't have to hide from Star. It would make things much easier since he didn't have to lie to her.

Star watched as all of the other students pushed their faces against the windows of the bus, but she wondered if they were looking for Phantom or if they were truly interested in the Zone. It didn't help that it was just unsanitary. The thought of doing what they were doing made her shudder. She and Danny had sat in the back- Danny allowed her the window seat so she could look out the window.

Danny, Star noticed, kept his eyes closed; his shoes were resting on her lap. His lack of interest in the scenery of the Zone showed just how often he came into here, but she wondered whether it was a good thing or not. Sure, if something were to happen to them during this trip then his vast knowledge of the ins and outs of this new world for the humans. On the other hand, the ghosts could attack- probably knowing Danny's secret- and Danny would have to protect them all; risking his hero identity. Though, she was here to help him in case that was to happen.

Wanting to relax her mind, Star fiddled with Danny's shoelaces as she looked out of the green atmosphere around the Spector Speeder Bus; her blue eyes dancing from the floating doors.

"Danny," Star called. Hearing a soft hum from her left she looked towards him, "what are those doors for?"

Her question caused a bunch of heads to look towards them. It wasn't uncommon for Star to ask Danny questions about ghosts. They wondered why she wouldn't ask the older Fenton's instead of their youngest child? It wasn't as if Danny knew more about the Zone more than his parents. He wasn't the smartest academically.

"Yeah, Fentina, what are those doors for," Dash mocked. The A-list group smiled lightly at the blonde jock, a couple even slapped him on the back. Paulina rolled her eyes as she turned back to the window. "You probably know nothing about this place."

It was silent for a few seconds as Danny gathered his thoughts.

"They are the openings to a ghosts lair," Danny replied with a small glance towards Star. He pointedly ignored Dash; he didn't want to make this trip terrible for Star, she was excited to learn all she could about the Zone.

Though he kept his eyes shut for the most part. The ectoplasm was fresh and untainted and he wanted to enjoy the freshness of the air.

"Cool," Star heard Mikey whisper from in front of them.

"Though," he said as he then opened his eyes to look out the window, "some are doors to other realms. A few even lead to other dimensions."

"Do you happen to mean that there are more worlds' that aren't the Zone or Earth?" Star was intrigued at this. How could there be more worlds and not many other people knowing about it? Did anyone else know about this?

Chuckling, Danny got up to direct Star to the closest window on the ceiling. "Think of the Zone as a giant mansion. How many doors do you have in your home?"

"Fifty or so?"

"Each door leads to a different room, right?" Star nodded, commenting that some lead to the same room. "The same could be said for these doors. These doors provide access to other realms within theZone such as ghosts' homes or lairs. Some doors can take a being into any part of the world, like Antarctica."

"Whoa," most of the other students seem to agree with Star's statement. "Do you think there are alternate universes of our world?"

"I mean, I accidentally ended up on Mars once when I went through one?"

Maddie turned to look at Danny with wide eyes, "you went in here without us?"

Glaring at her, Danny ignored her and watched as they passed a castle. "See that large castle?"

The students decided to listen to Danny talk with Star. It was the only way they would get any answers from the guy. If it were someone other than Star, they feared they would be dead- or worse. Glared at.

"Yeah," Star said as she saw how old and dark it looked.

"That is the lair of Princess Dora," Danny said lightly. "She has a soft spot for me since I was able to defeat her brother and allow her to take over the castle- it used to look much worse than this. The castle was destroyed, it wasn't until Dora had taken over that light finally entered broke through the clouds."

"Which one is she again?"

"The one with the dragon amulet."

Nodding, Star gazed at the green atmosphere with wonder. If this place was going to be ruled by Danny one day, then would that mean he would have to live here all the time? Would he remember her and her sisters? Sure, it looked lovely, but it also looked lonely to rule over an entire dimension.

Moving a few inches closer to Danny- to see where he was staring at- she saw a castle in the distance. It as huge and seemed to be in the middle of the Zone, where everyone could see it. In one word, Star would say the castle looked cold. As it was surrounded by snow, it probably was cold. The outside was torn and ripped; the exterior was black and holey.

With a grimace, Star tugged on Danny's arm to bring his attention to her. He didn't need to focus on being king of the zone just now. Star ignored the stares people on the bus gave them. Opening her mouth to ask about the zone, but she felt way the Spector Speeder began to shake a bit. "Danny, could ectoplasm be used as a gas source?"

With a look that gave off as much annoyance with the question, "no. Why?"

The Spector Speeder then began to fall the hundreds of feet from where they were in the air to the closest rock form that was below them. When the Speeder crashed, Star was grabbed by the waist by Danny when an icy feeling covered her being. Despite her arms blocking her head, she knew she probably wouldn't have made it unscathed had it not been for Danny turning her intangible in the last second. With a heavy thud, the bus landed and she saw darkness.

Danny groaned lightly as he opened his eyes. His arm hurt- as did the rest of him. When he looked down he saw an unconscious Star with her head on his arm. She probably would wake soon, so he needed to get her out of the vehicle as soon as possible. Still, the shock of the crash would have Star weak in the knees, so they would need to wait until the shock wears off.

Danny had picked her up to carry her out of the Speeder bringing her to a clearing away from the bus he would be putting there. Sighing, Danny decided to begin to get people out of the bus- Star would be upset if she was the only one he got out of the bus. She already was making him care about the others, even if it was for her sake.

Many of the people who had come along the trip had various injuries; luckily there weren't any casualties. No one had died, yet.

"Fuck," Danny hissed to himself. He doesn't think he'll survive with the group that he came with; he just might lose all sanity that he had left. Or worse, he may become a Fruitloop as Vlad already is.

He managed to get everyone out of the bus, but they were all coming to. Panic was becoming the first thing they all did before more panic came around. The adults were all trying to calm the group down, but it didn't seem to do much.

"Danny," Star called gently. Danny walked toward her side. She had just woken up it seemed. She had her head between her knees. "I think you need to take charge..."

"We're stuck with idiots," Danny muttered as his face fell in his hand. "The A-list's won't listen to the teachers, so what makes anyone think that they'll listen to me?"

"Well," Star started slowly, "almost all of the school fears you..."

"Almost?"

"I'm not afraid," she whispered. Lifting her head she gazed into his sky blue eyes. She tried showing just how much she trusts him.

They looked at each other with warm gazes, but it was interrupted when they heard many moans and groans. Students and the adults were annoying one another. They were in absolute pain as they had yet to get their wounds treated, so he might have to get to that if no one else knew how to.

Danny knew that Star was able to treat wounds as she and her sister had been injured a lot by their parents. Plus, she helps him with his injuries now that she knows his secret, but he wouldn't force the blonde to do so if she didn't want to.

His eyes glanced at the way Star was holding her left arm with gentle care. A sprain maybe? Reaching out, he grabbed her hand allowing his healing powers to transfer over to her. "Sorry about this..."

Pain flared in her arm, but she never moved away from his cool grip. Her eyes watched as an icy blue-green aura covered her skin. He was wrong, it was a small fracture. Slowly, Star felt the cool feel of Danny's powers entering her body as it began to heal her arm; it felt nice, she thought.

"That feels good," she said with her eyes closed as a small moan left her throat.

"Manson and Foley had said that it felt awful and really painful," Danny said lightly.

Star hummed thoughtfully, too focused on how Danny's powers made her entire being feel as if it were laying on a cloud. "Maybe it differs from person to person."

A smirk fell on his lips as he released her now healed arm before he watched each of the others get up. He pulled her up, keeping her hand in his as he used his powers on her. As much as this helped, he wouldn't use it on other people because Danny knew that it would scare others if they saw he was able to heal. That and he just didn't want to lose all the energy it takes to heal more than two people.

"Does anyone know any first aid," Maddie asked the crowd of students' and Lancer. When no one answered with a positive, Star and Danny rose their hands gaining everyone's attention. "Great, now help everyone with their injuries."

"Anyone could put a bandaid on a cut," Dash growled out.

"Doesn't mean they know how to fix any other wounds," another jock finished.

Kwan walked over to Danny and showed him his broken arm, "I trust them."

Rolling his eyes, Danny stomped forward with anger- his hand gently leading Kwan to a perch close to a trail of flat rocks. Star wasn't far behind as she tried to ignore all of the eyes that were on her and Danny. She removed her hand from his as she took one of the first-aid boxes that were handed to them as he took the other, and sat on one of the flat rocks. They patched up many of the others, some times having to stitch up a cut or two, in the span of a half an hour.

Though Kwan had tried to be brave, it didn't keep the fearful quiver from his voice when Danny did his job. He was good, but he never spoke about what he was doing and it made him nervous. A girl had gone to Star with a horrid gash on her leg. As the two worked silently, the adults took notice of how well the two got along.

Confused wonder fluttered in Lancer's mind. For the longest time, he had noticed that Danny had become someone most either avoided or feared- sometimes it was both. Then came Star becoming apart of Daniel's inner circle- where Foley and Manson once were- where she seemed to be protecting him. It confused Lancer as to why Daniel was so cautious and dangerous with those around him. Perhaps, this trip will help him understand his students better.

Maybe.

Danny was fucking done with the class. He was done with the fucking adults who happen to now be watching him super fucking closely. The raven-haired halfa was just about ready to rip the hair out of every person around, and he was afraid that if Star would happen to enter his danger zone she might get hurt in some way, shape, or form.

Lancer wouldn't stop goddamn analyzing him. Jack and Maddie kept their weapons aimed and on at all times, and it was beginning to piss Danny off as he was helping the others with their wounds. The constant hum of the weapons was grating on his nerves so much so, that the other teens would ask why he was gritting his teeth. It only added fuel to his chilling anger.

Dash and his buddies- even Paulina and her company- were loudly asking everyone about whether or not Phantom lived here as the other ghosts seemed to. They were so loud, that they were making their presence in the Zone known to the residents here. Not a fucking good idea, if one were to ask Danny.

"He is always to the scene when a ghost comes," Dash's red-haired friend said.

"So? He is still a ghost," Dash spat, "he has to live here."

Star, even though she wasn't doing anything wrong, was also annoying him with her concerned glances even though he noticed that she winced a lot more when she did something. He knew the blonde had been hurt when she had been friends with those A-lister asses and had to keep shut about her injuries.

Yet, she wasn't friends with them and she was his. Still, she wasn't telling him she was hurt and it was starting to rub him the wrong way. Why doesn't she ever ask him to help her?

Didn't she trust him? Doesn't she know he was beginning to worry about her? He was genuinely concerned for her, and there were only a few others he felt like this for. Though, he shouldn't be completely surprised when she seemed happy to tell Valery that she was fine to go. A genuine smile on her paling face, a visible sheen of perspiration coating her skin and drenching her clothes. Well, the Hazmat and his hoodie.

"Good," he spat at Valery, "get the fuck away from us." Her green eyes went wide, but she then sent Danny a withering look. He countered it with his cold gaze, making her wince and scurried off. "Strong! Get your fucking ass over here."

Other students groaned at having to wait longer for them to be treated.

"Danny," her tone was questioning with a hint of reprimand. Oh no. She was not going to reprimand him.

She walked slowly from her spot beside him, her arm firmly sticking to her side- her breath came in a forced relaxed way. Now he was beyond pissed- he needed to blast something. Star was one person who rubbed him the wrong way when she tried to act as though she were fine.

With a firm glare, he pointed to the rock in front of him, "now."

Sighing, then wincing after, Star sat on the rock he directed her to. She took off her shirt, not caring about the others in the area, and allowed Danny to assess her new injuries.

"I'm fine, Danny." He glared at her as he pressed her shoulder enough to that she winced.

Smirking slightly, Danny bent down and used his fingers to lightly graze her skin. He wasn't a sadist and Star being in pain wasn't what was making him smirk, no, it was the fact that she isn't afraid of him but she knew when not to fight back with him. Something about that made him pleased.

Her shoulder was badly bruised, so he made quick work to use his ice powers in his figures to numb her pain. "Who?"

"Red-head next to Paulina, she kicked me when I was treating her." His gaze went to her wrist, "a guy accidentally squeezed me too hard when I was stitching his cut."

"Fucking-"

"Not now," she said in a soft murmur. "We'll talk about this when everyone is sleeping."

Growling Danny jabbed her side, "now. We talk about this now." By now, they had gained everyone's attention as she tried to dissuade Danny from talking. "Leave, you mother fuckers."

"Daniel James Fenton," Maddie spat, "you will not talk to your friends and elders this way."

His icy blue eyes seemed to glow, his hand formed a fist as he glanced at Star, healing her right in front of everyone. "None of you deserve better from me, Maddie. In fact, I think this entire trip is stupid."

Having not paid attention to the healing on Star, Maddie placed her hands on her hips as Jack stared at Danny with utter confusion. "And why is that, young man?"

Laughing darkly, everyone- excluding Star- backed away from him; thinking he was crazy. Though, that could also be due to the glow around his hand and pulsing on to Star. Her wounds were disappearing before their eyes, yet the older Fentons hadn't noticed.

"Why? You are a complete and utter idiot! This is your first time in the Zone," shocked gasps, "and you decide to take an entire class into it. And for what? To explore the unknown? Listen here, Fenton," he spat at his mother and father, "I know this place as if it were the back of my hand, so you do as I say."

Stunned silence flowed through them, but it was enough to attract Ember. "Hey, Dipstick, what are you doin' here?"

Rolling his eyes, "fucking field trip, hot head."

Wincing, Ember gazed at his companions, "I feel you. Clockwork asked me to give this to you," she then threw a large container of gas at him. "Said it will get you home quicker, but with that wreck it took Technus-"

"GHOST!"

Danny groaned as he watched Maddie and Jack point their weapons toward Ember; ready to cause her pain. They probably would have, too, had Danny not grabbed their weapons and broke them over his knee.

Star placed a calming hand on his shoulder, but he turned sharply towards her. Not that it phased her since she kept her hand on his shoulder, instead, she began to lightly massage his shoulders. Slowly Danny turned his head away from her as he tried to control his emotions.

"Focus, Danny," she whispered in his ear, her arms curling around his left one. "If you lose it now, you won't be able to find yourself for a while."

He knew that. He wanted to blast her off of him, but instead, he mimicked her breathing as he tried to focus solely on calming down. Ember had left, the Spector Speeder Bus was still a wreck, and his parents were becoming even harder to bear. All he needed was to get everyone to help fix the bus, refill the tank, and then get the hell out of dodge.

If only things were ever that simple.


End file.
